House prices rise nationally but North still in doldrums

The 0.2 per cent increase in March follows a flat start to the year and is the first rise in 20 months, suggesting that prices will hold firm in the coming months, although the overall market is not yet “firing on all cylinders”, property analyst Hometrack said.

The study said that the ending of a two-year stamp duty holiday for first-time buyers earlier this month may have helped to boost demand as buyers rushed to beat the deadline.

But London, which has strong interest from overseas buyers, saw prices jump by 0.5 per cent in March, the largest monthly increase since April 2010, and the English capital is continuing to help keep average prices up nationally, Hometrack said.

Prices rose by 0.1 per cent in East Anglia, the South East and the South West but they were flat in the East Midlands, the West Midlands and Yorkshire and Humberside. They fell by 0.1 per cent in Wales and dropped by 0.2 per cent in the North East and the North West.

Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack, said: “The divergence in the relative strength of the housing market in Northern and Southern England is set to remain. While the stamp duty holiday had a clear impact on the market, the effect of what is ultimately a short-term measure, will fade quickly in the coming months.

“The net result is that we expect prices to track sideways in the short term with the outlook for the second half of the year hinging on households’ expectations for the economy and their incomes.”

Hometrack’s study, which surveys 1,500 estate agents across England and Wales about selling prices, said that growth in demand over the last two months has helped to keep prices firm.